Recently, I visited Washington DC. It was very fun, enjoyable, and interesting. First, we left our house at 6:30, an hour and thirty minutes later than planned. We then took an incredibly long 10-hour drive to Washington. We passed through Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and finally, reached Washington DC. When we got to Washington DC, the suburban area gave me concerning vibes, and I observed some scary drivers. There were more zipping ambulances and fire trucks, and thankfully, every couple of blocks and streets, there was always a police car. We just relaxed on the first day and went nowhere partly because it was raining and we wanted to get settled in our new home for 3 days. 

On the second day, we went to Capitol Hill, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, and the White House. At the White House, we saw a peaceful protest. Everyone who was there was wearing or waving the Ukrainian flag. After, we went to the food trucks (well actually we went to the bus stop and waited for over half an hour for the bus to come). We then got tired of waiting and decided to walk to the food truck. Halfway there, we were met with a blocked road, we just got there and saw a tour bus, it had been blocked off by a police truck! And soon one by one, there was a motorcade; the motorcade was basically an escort for the president. We saw lots of motorcycles, police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances. I watched in confusion, that is until I saw the back cars, they had the American flag sticking out, all in a tight diamond formation. Soon after a couple of minutes of gawking at the motorcade and the enormous chopper overhead, the roads finally cleared. 

We finally got to the food truck, and I was starving!!! After our scrumptious dinner, we headed home to retire for the night. On the next day, we went by bus to the Museum of Natural History. We saw the evolution of modern-day animals, labs, ocean animals, mummies, and mammals. The best thing for me was not the animals but the minerals and crystals; they were so pretty. We got to see some of the world’s most famous gems such as the Hope Diamond. I bought an obsidian ring before leaving. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, but that same day, I broke it by accident. We had a pizza dinner and retired early. 

We had to go to Vraj that day. Vraj is a temple dedicated to Shri Khoisan’s Encarnacion Shrinadgi Bhagwan. We went to Murmurous arthie and had lunch. The rule of the temple is that whatever you get is what you must complete, and if you don’t, it’s disrespectful. After a delicious lunch, we headed to our room. Vraj is a place where you can book a hotel and stay right by the temple, get free lunch, and have peace of mind. After sleeping for half an hour, since the drive from Washington DC was three hours, we were exhausted. After sleeping, we got ready and went to another two arthies. We had some snacks and took a visit to another temple, just across the street. We took a ritual walk around it and worshiped the deities in the gold and marble mini temples. After that, I went to a park while my parents took a walk with my grandparent around Vraj. After the walk, we went to the last arthie with a shrine. After we took the holy walk around the shine that we do in all of the arthies, we went to yet another arthie. This one, however, was not worshiping a shrine but the sacred river Yamuna. We of course did not have the actual Yamuna river which is in Delhi, India. We used the bond by our temple or the arthie; we each got paper cars so we could join the earth. After the arthie, we had yet another delicious meal. After, we went back to our rooms and got out of our Indian clothes and into our soft and cozy nightgowns where we slipped off into dreamland.

The next morning after getting ready we went to worship at the Yamuna again. At breakfast, I had some of the best Indian food in my life! As soon as we left, we came face to face with a goose. The goose looked hungry and was camping by the end of the canteen. My mom, dad, grandma, and I slipped out unharmed, however, the goose reared up and raved towards my grandfather. He tried to coax the goose to leave him alone, which failed. The goose stood a foot away from him and hissed. When my grandfather began to walk away, the goose lunged and attacked him! I was traumatized and raced back to our room without looking back. Back in the room, my family started to pack while I was sent on a mission to get water from the canteen. I went and avoided the goose the first time. The second time around I wasn’t so lucky. Just as I stepped out, the goose reared its head and charged toward me. Thankfully, a bunch of elders came and shooed the goose away.

I thanked them and raced back, not stopping once. Finally, we loaded our stuff in the car and left Vraj to our home reflecting on the memories we had made. Even though there were some ups and downs, in the end, it was an amazing trip. 

Tvesha Patel ‘27, Rising Middle School Editor

27tpatel@montroseschool.org